Māori artists headed for US arts residency
31 May 2010
Two multi-talented New Zealand Māori artists are about to make a creative mark in the US on an artists residency at a prestigious Washington university.
Henare and Tawera Tahuri from Gisborne, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island - are the 2010 Toi Sqwigwialtxw artists-in-residence at Evergreen State College, a public liberal arts university considered one of the best in the US. They will commence their residency in July.
The husband-and-wife team are the first Kiwi artists with a performing arts background to take up the biennial six-week residency, funded by Te Waka Toi - the Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand and Evergreen’s Longhouse Education and Cultural Center.
"We’re very proud of our culture so we’re looking forward to sharing it with other first-nations people and creating a collaborative work. We’re also looking forward to extending our networks with other indigenous peoples so we can potentially work together in the future," Tawera said.
First nations’ cultural exchange
Henare and Tawera, who are both also visual artists, will work alongside Native American artists during the residency.
They are hoping to explore similarities between Māori and Native American performing arts including haka / dance, chants and waiata / song.
Evergreen Longhouse Education and Cultural Center director Tina Kucckhan says their background in both visual and performing arts means they will be able to relate to a broader range of American indigenous artists living in the Washington area.
"We can envision them interacting with the numerous drum and dance groups in our area and especially during the summer when many people will be participating in the annual Tribal Canoe Journey," Kucckhan said.
Life-changing residency
Toi Sqwigwialtxw’s 2008 artist-in-residence, visual artist June Northcroft Grant described the residency as life-changing. Grant regularly lectured at the university and tribal centres, on top of working on her main art project.
"I was able to visit many tribal centres, see their art, talk to Native American artists about their concepts and native symbols, and immerse myself in a new and vibrant culture," Northcroft said.
Sqwigwialtxw means ‘house of welcome’ in the Salish language of the South Puget Sound Native Americans.
Artistic career paths
Henare and Tawera Tahuri have followed similar artistic career paths.
They are both graduates of Tairawhiti Polytechnic’s Toihoukura School of Māori Visual Art and Design, in Gisborne, and hold Masters in Māori Visual Arts from New Zealand’s Massey University. Both now work as tutors at Tairawhiti Polytechnic.
Tawera Tahuri - a mixed media artist whose work includes painting, ceramics, and fashion - exhibited at the 2009 Florence Biennale, in Italy.
Tawera’s clothing label HINU references her desire to ‘preserve’ Māori culture. As Māori traditionally preserved kai / food using hinu / animal fats, Tawera uses Māori fashion and design as her vehicle to preserve the culture.
She has recently founded an art gallery / studio in Gisborne exhibiting and promoting the works of local East Coast artists.
Henare Tahuri is a visual and performing artist who has exhibited and performed his work internationally. His visual work - painting, carving, sculpture, and digital imagery - reflects his deep religious beliefs, and recent works focused on the trinity in Māori spiritualism.
He is a member of the award-winning Whangara Mai Tawhiti kapa haka / Māori performing arts group - one of the cultural groups representing New Zealand at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. He has earned the title of ‘most outstanding male performer’ three times in national competitions.
His mentor is artist Derek Lardelli, considered one of New Zealand’s best ta moko / Māori tattoo artists. Lardelli helped devise the All Blacks rugby team’s new haka ‘Kapa o Pango’.
The couple have six children and work from their studio / gallery in Whatatutu, a remote farming settlement on the upper reaches of the Waipaoa River, inland from Gisborne.
More information
Kapa Haka - traditional Māori performing arts
Ta moko - traditional Māori tattoo art
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